Friday, December 29, 2017

Hey guys! Popping in today to share a great recipe that would be perfect for New Year's Day. It takes a bit of planning because you have to make it the day before, but it's well worth the effort! Also, it's meatless so if you have any vegetarians around for breakfast this is a perfect dish for them.

Kayla and Ian came over Christmas morning for breakfast before we headed to my parents. I had decided to fix this breakfast bake because it is assembled the night before and in the morning I just had to pop it in the oven and let it bake while I got ready. I had found this recipe on the Food.com years ago and had fixed it for a girls weekend. Everyone had loved it then, and it was a hit on Christmas morning as well!

Here's What You Need

8 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon (or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

6 ounces shredded mornterey jack cheese

6 ounces grated asiago cheese

4 asiago cheese bagels

Here's What You Do

As mentioned above, this dish must be prepared the night before you plan to bake it.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, milk, tarragon and paprika. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

Mix the schredded cheeses together in a bowl. Cut the bagels into small bite-size pieces.

Grease a 2-quart souffle or casserole dish and, starting with the bagel pieces, place them in the dish in alternating layers with the shredded cheeses. Pour the egg mixture evenly over all, cover the dish, and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake, uncovered, in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. The top will be a nice golden brown.

We served the breakfast bake with roasted potatoes and bacon. It was a great breakfast and came together quite easily. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Hello friends! Here we are at the last Friday in 2017. How did that happen?!? This year has flown by! I'm not going to lie, the thought of a new year always makes me a little excited. So many fun things are already planned for 2018. But let's get on with the last Five on Friday for 2017 ~

1. Instant Pot Miracle Cookbook
How many of you got an Instant Pot for Christmas? I got one for my birthday in November and am looking forward to taking full advantage of this hot appliance to pull suppers together in the new year. I also received this cookbook - Instant Pot Miracle. It's full of recipes I can't wait to try! If you're looking for some ideas for your Instant Pot, add this cookbook to your collection and see the miracles your instant pot can pull off for you. Click HERE to purchase.

2. Winter Trilogy Books by Erin Hilderbrand

While on Christmas break, I've read four books. Talk about a nice break!! Erin Hilderbrand hooked me with her Winter Trilogy Books, which is actually a four-book series. Winter Street, Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, and her final book Winter Solstice introduces you to the Quinn family and the Winter Street Inn located in Nantucket. Each heart-warming novel is full of dysfunctional family shenanigans and leaves you anxious to read the next book in the series. Have you read them?

Eric got me this sweatshirt from American Eagle for Christmas and I just might leave it on until spring. It is seriously the most soft, cozy sweatshirt I've ever owned. And it's on sale right now!! You have to check it out! I got the gray one that says Shine On. It's also available in a red Peace version. It's in my cart right now! Click HERE to check them out.

I'm thinking I need one of these for the office desk. It conveniently holds your cell at an angle that's easy to view. You can view your cell or tablet at a glance without having to pick up the phone. I'm also thinking you could face time while being hands free with your phone. Yes, I definitely need one. You too? Click HERE.

5. Happy New Year's!

Hope you have a fun and safe New Year's! I'm headed to Kansas City to celebrate with friends. It will be an evening full of games and good times. I'm going to post an egg casserole recipe tomorrow that would be wonderful to serve on New Year's Day. Hope you pop back in and check it out.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Here we are - it's our last Friday in 2017. If you're like me, that seems pretty hard to believe! This week I'm featuring three cocktails that might come in handy at your New Year's Eve party. Hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday. See you in 2018!!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Let's hear it for Friday! With the work week almost over, I'm ready to turn my whole attention to getting ready for Christmas. Before I share my five for today, I want to share this ~ Today is my parents' 55th wedding anniversary! Not many people can say they have been married over half a century! Happy anniversary Mom and Dad. Hope you have many, many more years of wedded bliss.

Now on to my five ~

1. Camembert Cheese and Cranberry Sauce Fillo Bites
Have you had these scrumptious appetizers from Trader Joe's? They are SOOOOO good!! I'm rushing there after work today to pick up a couple boxes just to have around during the holidays. We served them at our party last weekend and they got rave reviews. Trader Joe's describes it the best, "Pairing the Camembert with naturally tart cranberries is an inspired coupling, if we do say so ourselves, and a hint of sweetness neatly ties the cheese and berry flavors together."

2. The Post
There are so many movies coming out that we want to see! One of them that I'm pretty pumped about is The Post. Here's the storyline from Movie Insider, "In June 1971, The New York Times, the Washington Post and the nation’s major newspapers took a brave stand for freedom of speech and reported on the Pentagon Papers, the massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned four decades and four US Presidents. At the time, the Post’s Katherine Graham (Streep) was still finding her footing as the country’s first female newspaper publisher, and Ben Bradlee (Hanks), the paper’s volatile, driven editor, was trying to enhance the stature of the struggling, local paper. Together, the two formed an unlikely team, as they were forced to come together and make the bold decision to support The New York Times and fight the Nixon Administration’s unprecedented attempt to restrict the first amendment."

3. Birchbox
Scrambling for that last minute gift? Think about gifting a subscription to Birchbox! You can get them for girls or guys. Each month the recipient receives five beauty samples tailored just for them. They will even email you a printable, present-ready gift certificate to give right away. Click HERE to check it out. I've been a Birchbox subscriber for years and absolutely love getting my monthly box! The girls Birchbox is only $24 right now for 3 months of boxes when you use the code GIFT20. Sounds like it could be a perfect give to yourself.

4. New Year's EveNew Year's Eve is right around the corner. Don't forget to load up on your party gear! Click HERE to get your party box for 10 that includes 10 horns, 5 hats and 5 tiaras all in the classic black, gold and silver. 5. Jingle bells, jingle bells....

Hope each of you have a very merry Christmas! After today, I'm on vacation until after New Year's and I'm super excited about having some time off! I hope we can sneak in one more light display this weekend. Oh, and I have a ton of gift wrapping to do. I better get busy!!

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! We only have a few more days until Christmas. Hope you are ready! If not, I'm sharing a couple features today that might help you out. Jerri will be back soon, but for now don't forget to check out the other hostesses and see what their features are this week.

We crammed so much stuff into last weekend I'm just now recovered enough to write about it. Let's start with Saturday ~ I rented a 15-passenger van and invited my family to go Christmas light looking. After dinner, we piled into the vehicle and headed out.

My goal was to make this one of those family outings that was filled with magical moments. We decorated the van, had scavenger hunt sheets and glow sticks for the kids, and personalized travel mugs to hold the homemade hot chocolate and wassail that was loaded in the back. I'm not going to lie, I think I was more excited about this little adventure than anyone else was. I did a horrible job taking pictures and I'm pretty sure no one else got pictures either.

We went to three places in the St. Louis area to see their light displays. Our first stop was Anheuser- Busch Brewery Lights. This free walking tour is open every Thursday through Sunday from 5:00 to 10:00 pm until December 30. If you're not interested in drinking the beer samplings, you can bypass the long line for a wristband and walk right in.

Being up close and personal with one of their famous Clydesdale horses was a highlight at this stop.

We filled our travel mugs (that I made with my favorite Silhouette Cameo) and was headed to the next location - Gateway's Magic of Lights.

This is the first year we went to Gateway Motorsports Park Magic of Lights and was impressed with their mile-and-a-half display. Magic of Lights St. Louis will run nightly through January 1 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm daily. There is a per car charge for driving through. To make your experience a little more magical, carriage rides are also available for an additional fee.

Many of their displays were lights in motion. For example, the dump truck actually dumped the presents from the truck to the ground.

Our next stop was one we've been to many times - Our Lady of the Snows Way of Lights. The line to get in was LLLOOOONNNNGGG. We waited about an hour on the highway before seeing the front gate. Their lights are so impressive that, for me, the wait was worth it. This free light extravaganza will be displayed nightly from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm until December 31. Thank goodness they stayed open a bit longer on Saturday because it was after 9:00 pm before we reached the start of the line.

My nephew's reaction to the camel was priceless! If you're so inclined, you can ride the camel, donkey or horse for a $6 fee. Liam just wanted to look -- no riding!

Sunday we had a little get together at our house before going to a Trans-Siberian Tribute at our church. The hot chocolate bar was definitely a hit!

It's always fun to have a little something to send home with our guests, so I made each of them a personalized ornament.

The concert was magnificent! I can't wait until next year so we can see it again.

When we got home from the concert, I did some etching for a friend of mine. She needed some high ball glasses personalized for a gift she was giving. Hope they like them!

And that's a wrap on the weekend! With only one more weekend left before the holidays, it's time to get in those fun activities with your families. What are some things you do to celebrate the season?

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

A few weeks ago, San who blogs over at theinbetweenismine, announced she would be hosting the second annual Secret Santa Mug Swap. I just love a good swap so I immediately jumped in. Coming home from work and having a fun package waiting to be opened is something I truly love.

The flip side of receiving a fun package is putting together one to ship off. For this swap, I sent a package to Lauren over at Shooting Stars Mag. Pop over to her blog and see the package I sent her way.

Now, for the fun part ~ let me show you what was inside the box I received Stephanie. Just look at this adorable mug!

Not only did Stephanie ship me the mug, but also an entire box of Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa packets! She definitely hit the nail on the head -- I LOVED what she sent!!

Stephanie did her research from my blog before selecting her gift. The Wild Barrel enamel mug was the perfect choice for me and will be used often!

Don't you wonder what's in the mug - is it cocoa or wine? Only the sipper knows!

Thanks San for hosting this fun swap! Also, Stephanie - thank you so much for getting to know me through my blog and picking out the most perfect mug. I will be enjoying the chocolate and the mug!

Friday, December 15, 2017

Hey there! Welcome to Five on Friday. Are you as glad it's Friday as I am?!? We have big plans for the weekend, so before I turn my attention to that let me share my five for today ~

1. Free Shipping Day
Still have tons of online shopping to do but hate those shipping charges? Well, today just might be your lucky day!! It's free shipping day! Tons of stores like JCPenney, Target, Macy's, Old Navy, the list going on and on, are offering to ship your order free today. For a complete list of companies celebrating Free Shipping Day, chick HERE. Happy shopping!

2. Exploding Kittens
Looking for a new game to play over the holidays? This one is getting some pretty crazy good reviews. Here's the description from Amazon, "In this highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette, players draw cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten, at which point they explode, they are dead, and they are out of the game -- unless that player has a Defuse card, which can defuse the Kitten using things like laser pointers, belly rubs, and catnip sandwiches. All of the other cards in the deck are used to move, mitigate, or avoid the Exploding Kittens." Click HERE to get yours.

3. Mini Portable Cool Mist Humidifier
Okay - this one is so cool that it gets two pictures. Now that the temperature has dropped, have you noticed how dry the air is? This little baby will take care of that problem! You can use it at home, in the office or in your car. Yes - your car! It is the perfect size to take with you. It also has a 7 color changing nightlight, but can be set to stay on one single color if that's your thing. How perfect would this be in someone's stocking?!? Click HERE to purchase.

4. 2018 You are a Bad Ass Calendar
Looking for some daily inspiration in 2018? This funny calendar may be just want you need. It dispenses feisty inspiration and advice to cultivate awesomeness and encourages you to embrace what you love about yourself, change what you don't love, and create the kind of life that celebrates your greatness. It's HERE if you want one.

5. Eat your fruit.....

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm loading up my family in a rented 15-passenger van tomorrow night and we are heading to a few Christmas light displays in the St. Louis area. I'm so darn excited! We are trying a new place - Magic of Lights at Gateway Motorsports Park - and also some tried and true places - Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows and Anheuser-Busch Brewery Lights. Wish me luck. Then on Sunday we're hosting a little get together before a Tribute to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert at our church. So much fun packed into the next couple days!! Stop back by on Monday and see how it went.